A random collection of musings, observations, links, comments, analysis and thoughts on pop culture, television, movies, music, sports and life in general from someone who has painfully eschewed therapy.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Fun summary of the TV season over at AOL Television. You can click through that to see their editors' picks. Following are my picks in the same corresponding categories. (Where I agree with their choices, the category header is green. Where I disagree, the header is red).

Best Drama:Probably the toughest category to pick. You have The Sopranos. Lost. Veronica Mars. Dexter. Heroes. CSI. House. But I've got to go with BattlestarGalactica, which delivered the most consistent season with a large, and wildly talented, ensemble. Plus, there were no stupefyingly bad final fights, no kids stepping in their own poo nor any eps about how a character got their tattoo.

Best Comedy:Contenders include 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Entourage and My Name is Earl. However, though I was late to the party, I have to choose The Office. (Though it must be noted that no show since Arrested Development made me laugh out loud with greater frequency than the late, lamented Andy Barker PI).

Best Reality Show:Hard for me to say, since for the most part, I think reality shows are a plague on television. I only watch American Idol for watercooler chat, and because the "reality" of unscripted bullshit is kept to a minimum and I can fast forward through everything except the performances.

Best New Show:I loved two new shows from NBC that didn't get picked up, nor the buzz (and ratings!) they deserved, Rainesand Andy Barker, PI. Shark was an entertaining star vehicle, but I agree that Heroes, despite some hit and miss writing and a lame finale, was the best new show.

Worst New Show:I try not to watch awful shows, so I can't really say. I don't think I even "sampled" something truly bad. But on sheer reputation, I have to choose that Pussycat Dolls thing, since it championed "whoring sea donkeys" and help put a nail in the coffin of the infinitely superior Veronica Mars.

Best Cliffhanger:Wow. This one is rife with possibilities. Heroes. CSI. But I have to kind of agree with them, and choose a tie between Lost (their choice) and BattlestarGalactica. Both took huge risks with their storytelling and were indeed "game changers."

Best Villain:It's hard for me to think of GaiusBaltar as a villain (he's just misunderstood! And he was acquitted!). Tony Soprano is the "star"of his show, and Phil Leotardo is far worse! And who doesn't love Micheal Emerson's indelibly creepy Ben from Lost? Or, you could choose "the writers" on 24 (though I do give them a mulligan and have high hopes for next season). Or "Nielsen families." Still, I have to go with Sylar, from Heroes, anti-climatic throwdown aside.

Heroes Power We Wish We Had:I'm assuming you can't choose Peter or Sylar, which means that you actually absorb the powers of others (and I don't have much of a taste for "brains," either, so getting them that way would suck). Invisibility, flight and regeneration would be cool also. However, I'd choose Hiro'stime travel and teleportation. Just to go back two years and save myself from a horrible mistake would be worth the price of admission. Plus, time travel would be almost the same as precognition -- go forward, find out what's going on, and come back.

Couple We Loved to Love:I liked Jack and Juliet together, as well as Dexter and Rita. It may be considered "last season," but I adored Rose and The Doctor. Angela and Hodges are great together. However, Marshall and Lily were a funny, well rounded and perfectly suited couple. Congrats.

Couple We Loved to Hate:Wow. Where to go with this one? I stopped watching Grey's, so I can't legitimately choose George and Izzy. AJ Soprano and the chick he proposed to? Edie and Carlos? Close, but at least it gave two of the show's underrated comic actors something to do. I actually liked Veronica and Piz together. Maybe Starbuck and Apollo? How many couples work out their angst in a boxing ring? I think I'll choose Danny and Jordan from Studio 60. Together, they are just "icky" and even more narcissistic and self-absorbed than the show's other horrifying "couple," Harriet and Matt.

Most Disappointing Show:24 had an off year, no doubt about it. But no show had such a sterling pedigree and quickly disintegrated into train wreck status faster than Studio 60.

Most Shocking Development:Holy shit there were several. Yes, Christopher's death was shocking in the way it happened, but quite frankly, I thought Tony would whack him before the season ended anyway. Lost had so many shocking moments it's hard to list them all. However, I have to go with the "Cylon reveal" at the end of Battlestar Galactica.

Coolest Guest Star:So many to choose from, but how can you ignore George Fucking Takei (Mr. Sulu!) as Hiro's dad?

Meanest Reality Show Judge:I don't care.

Top Primetime Game Show:Again, I don't care. They are so dumbed down I can't believe they get ratings. From what I've seen, they make the contestants on the "Celebrity Jeopardy" skits on SNL look brilliant by comparison.

Strongest Network:The CW lost Gilmoresand canceled Veronica, and renewed the dancing whorefest, so they can suck my cock. ABC has Lost and not much else. Fox has Idol, 24, House and Bones, but canceled Drive (bastards). CBS is strong in the ratings, and pretty much the equivalent of comfort food. USA, HBO and FX are destination channels for me, but not really what the poll counts as "networks." So I'll agree with them on NBC, primarily for the Thursday comedy block, Heroes and the Law and Orders. Plus, they at least tried to some different things (Studio 60, Raines, Andy Barker) and seem to have more patience with quality (though the lack of love for Rainesand Barker annoyed me).

Cancelled Show You'll Miss the Most:Wow. I've already rambled on about Rainesand Andy Barker PI. Drive had the potential to be great, and canceling it was the equivalent of infanticide. But without a doubt the show I'll miss the most is Veronica Mars. I simply cannot fathom why more people didn't get this show which had it all: rich, dimensional characters, top shelf performances, solid mysteries, a fantastically drawn "universe" and the best writing and dialogue on TV.